As many of you know, this morning Gov. Whitmer issued a Stay Home-Stay Safe order. We wanted to update what this means for the schools.
1. Schools will now be closed THROUGH April 13. We were planning to return that day, but now are scheduled to return Tuesday, April 14. Obviously, that could change as the situation evolves.
2. Free meal distributions will continue during the shelter-in-place period. Providing food is an “essential service.” In fact, we now are planning to extend the meal distribution through our spring break, so food will be handed out Monday to Friday through at least April 13.
3. Online learning will continue. While current state law says the learning cannot count as “seat time,” Gov. Whitmer has clarified that “does not mean that school work done during the mandatory school closure won’t ‘count’ toward grades, credits, or graduation.” (Teachers and students are still officially scheduled for spring break from April 6-10, so there might be a week off during your weeks off.)
4. Some of our Operations Staff including Engineers and Custodians are considered essential workers so that we can continue to operate our food service program, essential building maintenance and deep cleaning as deemed necessary by the Director of Operations.
We will continue to work to keep you posted on changes and have information at firstbell.dearbornschools.org. Meanwhile, please stay safe out there everyone.